Get off your cold butts and get over to the MFA to catch this movie while you still can. Alexander Sokurov is an acclaimed Russian director. His most famous work, RUSSIAN ARK (2002), is a 96-minute single sequence shot journey through time, culture, and society in St. Petersburg’s Winter Palace. However, his take on the classic tale of Faust won him the Golden Lion award at the 2011 Venice International Film Festival – the highest award given at this prestigious event. Darren Aronofsky (PI, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, THE WRESTLER) presented the award, saying “There are some films that make you cry, there are some films that make you laugh, there are some films that change you forever after you see them; and this is one of them”. Personally, I’m not the biggest Aronofsky fan boy, but I think he couldn’t have described the film better.
Sokurov’s FAUST is absolutely beautiful. Set in the 19th century with all the careful attention to period detail characteristic of Russian cinema, the film is a gorgeous spin on the legendary story of Faust, a man whose lust for knowledge (and a woman) lead him to sell his soul to the devil. Similar to other films from this director, FAUST not only has a captivating story, but is also absolutely stunning visually.
Perhaps, the most interesting fact about this film is that it is the closing chapter to Sokurov’s series about men of power. Although the other films follow some of the real-life baddies in history (Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Lenin, Emperor Hirohito), this fiction proves to be an excellent conclusion to the series and strongly affirms Sokurov’s thesis – that men who truly hunger for power are incredibly lonely… and this is what makes them so dangerous and, though we are quick to forget this, human.
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Remis Auditorium
$11 Non-Members//$9 MFA Members, Seniors, & Students
Tickets can be purchased at the door or online.
136 min; In German with English Subtitles
1/8 7PM
1/9 4PM
1/10 7PM
1/11 2:30PM
1/12 12PM
1/15 7:30PM
1/16 7PM
1/17 4PM
1/18 12:30PM
1/19 10:30AM
